Amos Lee has been called 'a magnificent singer' by Adele and his new album
Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song also reflects his growing maturity as a
songwriter. He talks to Martin Chilton

Amos Leehas a voice that is something special. You don't have to take my word for it. Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams and Paul Simon are fans and Adele, who picked him out to be her support act in 2011, says: "Amos is a magnificent singer, incredible. I first saw him at the Jazz Café in 2006 and have adored him since. His voice blows me away."

The Philadelphia-born musician has more than his voice going for him and his new album, Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song, is his most accomplished yet. It is the follow-up to Mission Bell, which debuted at No1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2011.

Lee, 36, came late to music. He was born Ryan Anthony Massaro and adopted Amos Lee as his stage name ("it sounded funky") after a spell as a teacher and a bartender (not at the same time). "My parents weren't musical in the sense of sitting round playing the banjos like the Carter Family but they love music and mum sang a bit," Lee says. "I studied as an English major and went on to teach. I think teaching lent perspective to my life and I still have a lot of respect for what teachers do. I recognise the grind of most people who are working really hard for the money they need to live. I know that I am lucky to get the chance to play music. So I never take that for granted."

Was he a strict teacher for his second grade class? "Not at all," he says, with a laugh. "I was way too abstract to be a teacher."

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His desire to be a singer developed slowly. In high school he spent a lot of time playing basketball, and jokes that "my high school experience would have been a lot different if I'd been known as a singer." At college, he had been inspired by listening to the music of John Prine. "During a period when I was having a hard time, John Prine's songs really helped," he says. "He was a big inspiration as a songwriter. His Great Days anthology was so important and helped me figure out how to live. He is such a good-hearted man." It was after trying out at some open-mic sessions at bars that Lee decided on a new career path.

Amos Lee PHOTO: Harper Smith/amoslee.com

Lee's own songwriting is full of emotional density and subtlety and there is a lovely flow to the 13 songs on his new album. It's no surprise to hear him talk about the care he takes in ordering the tracklist. The album was recorded and produced in East Nashville by Jay Joyce. Lee says there was a great working atmosphere and he used his touring band and added stellar guest musicians such as Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Patty Griffinand Willie Nelson'sharmonica player Michael Raphael. "Mickey's a special dude," says Lee, who had got to know Krauss and Douglas during sessions for the Transatlantic series that were recorded in Scotland.

The two duets on the album are sublime (Chill in the Air with Krauss and Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song, a song about the deceased Band member Levon Helm, with Griffin). Respected producer Joyce had worked with Griffin and she was moved by the song. Other highlights are Johnson Blvd, a track about social upheaval, and the soulful Burden.

Lee, who will play London's Royal Festival Hall next May, has been with Blue Note for 10 years and his maturity as a songwriter is shown in the track about break-up called Dresser Drawer. It is a song that exemplifies his attention to detail (a good song is sometimes the result of refinement, Lee says, like making good whisky) and Dresser Drawer evolved considerably from the original version he recorded on his phone. Who are his sounding boards? "I like to get a lot of opinions," Lee explains, "from my band manager to my mum but at the end it has to be something personal to me. The songwriter has to find the clarity. I want music to resonate with people; for them to think 'man, that song is killing me.' Music is a social thing, it's about connecting with people."

One unusual high-tempo song is called Plain View, a deceptively light-hearted take on the modern world. "When I wrote that I was thinking about how humanity has the capacity to jump too quickly these days to conclusions, opinions and accusations. The public sphere is like a whirlwind, a tornado, that sweeps up things. The immediacy of condemnation is very dangerous. We do not give proper thought to the nuance of a situation."

The man who has toured and performed with Adele, Willie Nelson, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan is also a good interpreter of other's songs – his version of Fred Neil's Days of Rain is something special – and I wonder if he has considered recording an album celebrating his favourite songwriters. "I have been been thinking about doing some cover songs or duets for an album, because there are songs that I love singing," says Lee, "but I would never make a record for the sake of it. Making an album has to be something honest and not done for ambition's sake. If it doesn't speak to me, I won't do it. But I do love the idea that someone's cover of a song can take you into an artist in a different way, bring a connection and allow you to be a conduit."

As for his own sources of inspiration, he says he finds he has less time to read these days and prefers switching off by watching television shows such as The Wire. He describes Breaking Badas his favourite TV series and we discuss the show for a while. He recently met Bryan Cranston, who plays Walter White, when they were both guests on the Tonight Show. "The ending to the show was a little bit cleaner than I would have liked. I would have liked more ambiguity," he says.

There is plenty of ambiguity and nuance in Lee's writing. And Adele is right. His voice blows you away.